0 min left

Despite Warnings, 5.7 Million Flyers Take to the Skies for Thanksgiving

Flyers at airport wearing face masks

Although the Centers for Disease Control are asking flyers to spend Thanksgiving at home without large gatherings, flyers are still taking to airports without abandon. Over the six-day period between Nov. 19 and Nov. 24, 2020, TSA checkpoints handled 5.7 million flyers, including two one-million passenger days.

Even though health experts are telling flyers to avoid travel this Thanksgiving, it’s not stopping throngs of flyers from taking to the skies for a holiday at a different destination. Data from the Transportation Security Administration shows over 5.7 million flyers passed through security checkpoints between Nov. 19 and Nov. 24, 2020 – including two days surpassing one million passengers.

Activity Increased Compared to Previous Weeks, But Slow Compared to 2019

On both Nov. 20 and Nov. 22, the TSA processed over 1 million passengers nationwide. It’s the first time the TSA has experienced that many passengers since Oct. 17, 2020, and only the third time the agency has seen that many people in one day since the pandemic began.

The surge at airports is commensurate with consumer data, suggesting that while holiday spending will decrease, domestic travel may be on the rise. A recent report by Piplsay suggests 36 percent of Americans will travel during the holiday season, with 53 percent electing to stay within the United States. However, the numbers are still considerably lower than the beginning of the 2019 holiday season. Over the same dates in 2019, the TSA screened around 14.2 million passengers, or 2.4-times this year’s throughput.

The choice to travel flies in the face of recommendations from both the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and new research suggesting aircraft ventilation systems may not be as safe as airlines suggest. On their website, the CDC warns: “Travel may increase your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19,” and asks Americans to postpone travel. “It’s important to talk with the people you live with and your family and friends about the risks of traveling for Thanksgiving,” the agency warns.

Along with the CDC warnings, a new pre-print study from New Zealand suggests that it’s plausible to contract the novel Coronavirus by sharing a cabin with an infected flyer. Using genome sequencing, the research paper concluded that although alternative exposure could be to blame, three passengers who were flying in the same cabin and were exposed to infected persons tested positive “consistent with in-flight transmission.”

More Flyers Buying Travel Insurance Ahead of Trips

Acknowledging that they are taking a risk, more flyers are opting to purchase travel insurance. The Piplsay study notes three-quarters of Americans are worried about trips getting impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which corresponds to a rise in insurance purchases. According to Generali Global Assistance, 47 percent of travelers are opting to purchase travel insurance before they fly.

25 Comments
V
volabam January 2, 2021

Well, it's been a month and a half now. Where are the refrigerator trucks full of dead bodies from this terrible disregard of cOvID sAfEty?

G
Grog December 10, 2020

Gotta love all these "Live your life" posts. It reveals just how many people there are who don't give a single flick about the healthcare workers who have to clean up the messes created by such greed. Look around, people! Certain countries contained this by NOT BEING SELFISH. I see one specific post that leans on the good ol' fashioned "Of course, I built this. I built it ALL of it, ALL BY MYSELF" stance. That's a popular stance to take when you can't see beyond the rim of your own plate at what others in society endure in order to create and maintain the environment in which you flourish.

S
SamirD December 4, 2020

My father died from covid Sept 1st. He and I were isolated from January of 2020 with very stringent rules on going out (if we even did), and very rigorous rules on coming in from the outside (all clothes in the wash and a full shower, no exceptions). I'm just now starting to process my grief, which is tremendous as my father's death follows my mother's last year. My dad and I didn't even have a chance to process her passing. There is something to be said for having to do what is necessary to keep your life from dying--because then even if you're not dead, you're still dead. Keeping your business going, making sure things that keep the basics for you and your family are still there--food, shelter, etc. And with this activity--any human activity with any interactivity--spreads the virus; just like any other virus. The only way to halt the spread is to stop interacting. But you can't completely do that because we all do need to go grocery shopping once in a while and take care of other necessities. This activity will spread the virus. This is unavoidable. But leisure and other non-essential activities spread this virus unnecessarily--and the result of that is that my father is dead. I have a very strong sense of anger at everyone who unnecessarily spread this virus, who bunch up behind me when I'm getting off a flight, who play in parks in front of my home when 1 in 12 in the county test positive, for those who don't keep distance. You killed my father. The point of limited activity was to limit the spread until we have a cure. No one really got this point from what I've seen, and I've paid the price for everyone else's stupidity. My rage that stems from this seems endless.

S
sfoeuroflyer December 2, 2020

For FEasy. Does "doing your bit" mean going out of business? Losing your home? Losing your life's savings? Losing your job? Where does personal responsibility fit in. Of course the vulnerable can make decisions to limit or eliminate entirely contact with others...that's their duty. Let the rest of us live.

M
MRM December 2, 2020

LOL John! You must has missed the other stories about COVID number in Europe the past 4-5 weeks - or since they don't fit your narrative, you didn't include them.